Germany's Shulz Says Eurozone Needs Joint Budget

Right now it looks as if Merkel will remain chancellor after the election, but Martin Schulz should look to Britain if he wants to take the top spot. "But Germany can do more", Schulz, whose SPD is the junior party in Germany's coalition government, said in the introduction of his ten-point-plan for a modern Germany and a better Europe, Reuters reported.

Germany's current-account surplus has been on the receiving end of persistent criticism, including most recently from the International Monetary Fund and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

"Germany is a great country".

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she planned to serve a full four-year term if re-elected and defended her government against accusations that she's faltered on public infrastructure investment.

Schulz, whose SPD pulled almost even with Merkel's faction in surveys after his surprise nomination in January, has struggled to regain that initial momentum.

Merkel's conservatives and the SPD now govern in a grand coalition but Schulz is not a minister.

Merkel's conservatives promised Germans more police, more homes and full employment within eight years when they presented their programme earlier this month.

Schulz, a Social Democrat whose party has been Merkel's coalition partner for the past four years, pledged on Sunday to guarantee that surplus revenue would go toward spending on infrastructure if he wins the Chancellery on September 24.

Schulz said he backed French President Emmanuel Macron's proposals for a joint eurozone budget to boost investment, adding Germany should also be prepared to increase its financial contribution to the bloc's first post-Brexit budget after 2019.

Merkel contributed Germany's strength to its European Union membership stating, "If Europe is stronger, then Germany will be stronger".

"Solidarity is not a one-way street", Schulz warned, calling for financial sanctions for those countries that violate the spirit of solidarity in the EU.